Rashid Abdi, For Addis Standard Two mass protest movements have, in quick succession, forced regime changes in Sudan and Ethiopia, two of the Horn of Africa’s quintessential “hard” states. A deep-seated disillusion with the security and developmental states drives the new “revolutionary” mood. What is less clear is where all the ferment and the popular…

By Dawit Woldegiorgis, Visiting Scholar at Boston University, African Studies Center ‘Absolutely Oversold’***********************As instability and violence spreads across much of Ethiopia, with most recent incidents getting close to the capital in Northern Showa, it is becoming a matter of grave concern to Ethiopians and regional governments, whether there will be a full-fledged civil war in Ethiopia….

By Major Dawit Woldegiorgis PM Ably seems to have taken a calculated decision to play the ethnic card to perhaps appease the radicals within his party. For certain, his ethnic base is fired up and their expectations are high. His colleague Jawar Mohamed, another fiery demagogue who preaches ethnic and religious extremism has been invited…

Mehari Taddele Maru, For Addis Standard –@DrMehari Addis Abeba, March 05/2019 – This has been an eventful year for Ethiopia’s politics. Under Abiy Ahmed Ali, who became Prime Minister in April 2018, the government has eased its previous authoritarian stance on various central issues. A national state of emergency imposed by Abiy’s predecessor has been lifted…

Federations of ethnonational states can become explosive during moments of political liberalization. Abiy Ahmed must tread carefully to avoid a Balkan nightmare. BY FLORIAN BIEBER, WONDEMAGEGN TADESSE GOSHU within a few shorts months, Ethiopia has witnessed a dramatic transformation. The new prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, signed a peace agreement with Eritrea after years of simmering tensions. He…

Mahlet Fasil and Yared Tsegaye The last ten days inside the Federal high court Lideta branch, 10th criminal bench have seen the continued trial of dozens of individuals suspected of grand corruption involving former officials the army operated Metals and Engineering Corporation (MeTEC). Here is what went down the court room. Police receives extra days…

Ezekiel Gebissa, For Addis Standard Addis Abeba, October 17/2018 – Ethiopia is in the midst of a political transition. There is genuine elation that the rule of violence has ended and a democratically elected government is in the offing. Yet, there is collective anxiety that this transition could become another false start to democracy. A sense…

G. Teressa, For Addis Standard Addis Abeba, September 25/2018 – The power relationship within the four-member ruling coalition party—the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF)-which has ruled Ethiopia autocratically for 27 years, has been irreversibly changed. The Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) is no longer the kingmaker after suffering an ignominious defeat by the tactical alliance…

Hassen Hussein, For Addis Standard Addis Abeba, March 21/2018 – Preoccupied by the internal upheavals that their own country is undergoing, Ethiopians can be excused for largely ignoring the storm gathering at their doorsteps. As alliances and counter-alliances pockmark the greater Northeast Africa and Middle East, regions from where state fragility is radiating outward, the country’s leaders…

Addis Abeba, March 05/2018 – In a duel between revolution and reform, slogans play a referee’s role. Once chiseled on the tongues of a people on the move, slogans reduce complex issues into simple catch phrases that animate and captivate the street. “Land to the tiller!” chanted the 1960s/1970s Ethiopian youth. And those calling for expropriating…